PLYMOUTH — In a brief ceremony just after the start of the Plymouth Township council meeting, Officer Nick, the K-9 partner of fallen Plymouth Township police officer Brad Fox, was formally retired and given to Fox’s family.

For Fox’s wife Lynsay, who was at the meeting along with the couple’s young daughter Kadence, Nick’s retirement and homecoming is a moment that she has waited to happen for several months.

“I’m just glad to have him home officially. It’s a small piece of Brad that we now have home with us personally,” said Lynsay. “I know he meant a lot to Kadence and to see the bond that they have is irreplaceable.”

While the thought of owning a trained police dog may seem daunting to some, Lynsay says that she is more than prepared and even helped train Nick when her husband first got partnered with the K-9 officer.

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“He’s been home with us all through training,” Lynsay explained. “I worked with him just as much as Brad did at home, so when Brad was at work or there was a time that I had to handle him, I could.”

In addition to the Fox family growing with Nick’s retirement, Lynsay also confirmed that the couple’s second child will be a boy and “it will be a junior.”

For many, the vision of Officer Nick spending the rest of his days with the Fox family may have seemed fitting, but the township had difficulty in obtaining the necessary permission to release the K-9 officer from service.

According to Sheldon Simpson, the Plymouth Township council chair, because Nick was purchased by the township through a federal grant, the circumstances around his retirement became tricky.

“Nick came to us from a grant from Homeland Security, which the Montgomery County Commissioners were instrumental in helping us get, which made it a little difficult to transfer the dog,” explained Simpson. “Again, the commissioners were also instrumental in clearing that up so that we could (pass) this resolution tonight.”

For the Montgomery County Commissioners, getting involved in the process of helping Plymouth Township cut through the necessary red tape to retire Nick was an easy decision to make.

“I was really inspired by Brad’s life and I was inspired by the way the community came together after Brad was taken from us,” said Josh Shapiro, the chairman of the Montgomery County Commissioners. “The entire community yearned to do something for Brad and for his family after he was taken from us. For our county family, that something was helping Nick rest at home with the family that he loved so much and who loved him.”

Ultimately, because of the legislative red tape that surrounded Nick’s retirement, he was “sold” to Lynsay for the cost of $1, which she said was “absolutely” the best dollar that she ever spent and although he is now retired, Lynsay says that Nick’s days will be more than lounging around the house and playing with the family’s other dog.

“He needs to pay his way to stay around here,” she said with a laugh before continuing. “His job now is to protect us and that’s a 24 hours a day, seven days a week job.”